A word on wall warts

Lots of folks have received iPads, iPods etc for presents through the holiday season (including Mana!).  It is worth knowing a bit about those little wall warts that come with your gadgets.  They take the current from the wall and convert it, so that your little handheld gadget can digest it.

The iPhone/iPod ones are little cubes.  Very handy and elegant.  However, they don't work for iPads, which need stronger juice.

The iPad one looks like a smaller version of the one that came with my macbook pro ("MPB" for those "in the know").  It has a folding plug.  It *will* work for the iPods and iPhones in your house.

You can also find third party ones, which are likely to be cheaper than the Apple ones.  Beware of these, as you often get what you paid for.  I found one that seemed like a deal at RadioShack (now known simply as "TheShack").  It does work on iPhones and iPods, however it makes a high-pitched sound when nothing is plugged into it.  I haven't even tried the iPad in it.

These gadgets, specifically their high-tech batteries, are also finicky about car chargers, by the way.  My recommendation is to buy any of these accessories at a place where it isn't hard to return them if necessary!

I'm thinking of investing in some of these when they come out, as we have a few spots where we very frequently charge our gadgets, and I like the idea that they aren't vampires, sucking power even when when nothing is plugged into them (a drawback of the wall warts in general).